Better Choices
by TRikiD
Summary: He saved her life. But she doesn't even know who he is. Bernice Washington blames herself for the supposed death of her beloved nieces, Hannah and Beth, so she tries to cope by returning to Blackwood Pines with the twins' friends. None of them realize they were never alone on that mountain, but the infamous "Stranger" never realized he didn't have to be alone.


Better Choices

It was supposed to be fun. Everyone knew that, whether they were hammered or looking forward to hammering someone else, it was just supposed to be a fun time out at the Washington's. But due to one tiny, insignificant action, the courses of everyone's lives were altered that night.

One life in particular was Bernice Washington, younger sister of Bob Washington; she was a pale woman in her late thirties, with her brother's matching brown eyes and ebony hair that reached her mid-back; her choice of attire was usually that of a grey turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, khaki boots, and a vibrant red scarf due to the current conditions outside.

But as Bernice eventually found herself hanging out with her youngest niece, Beth, neither of them would realize the presumably harmless yet malicious intentions of the others until it was too late.

"Where are you going?" Bernice asked Jessica firmly as she, Emily, Mike and Sam left the kitchen while whispering, but her voice fell upon deaf ears. She was just about to follow them out to the living room when…

"Hey, did you see that?" Beth called nervously while peering out the kitchen window, feverishly scanning the blizzard outside for anymore movement.

"See what?" Bernice questioned as she approached to look outside for herself, but she saw nothing.

"I don't know…Dad said it'd just be us this weekend," the younger twin informed, backing away from the window in fear.

Bernice quickly noticed, so she tapped her niece's shoulder reassuringly, "It's ok, Beth, there's nothing out there but bears and elk. Besides, your Auntie Bernice is here to protect you kids."

Beth couldn't help but giggle, "We're not kids anymore, Aunt Bernice."

"Whatever. Now, let's go wake up your drunken reprobate of a brother and his pussy friend."

"Oh, come on! Just because he hasn't asked Ashley out yet doesn't mean he never will. And I don't think you're one to talk because you've never had a boyfriend in your life."

Bernice chuckled and ruffled Beth's beanie, "That may be true, but I've had enough one night stands to know that if you don't make a move now, you're gonna regret it later."

"Ew, gross! Did not need to know that!" Beth commented with a grimace.

"And I don't think your parents need to know your brother's been drinkin' some pretty good scotch. I mean, look at this," Bernice paused as she picked up the half-empty bottle of Jeremiah Cragg that Josh and Chris were drinking, "Damn, that's a good year!"

"Jeez, Josh. Once again, Brother, you've outdone us all," Beth admitted, hardily patting Josh's back in an attempt to wake him up, but to no avail, and Bernice wasted no time in taking a few swigs of wine straight from the bottle.

But before she could feel the alcohol kick in, Bernice noticed something out of place on the far end of the bar, "What's that?"

Beth instantly followed her gaze and approached the piece of paper, picking it up and reading it aloud when she realized it was a note, "'Hannah, you look so damn hot in that shirt, but I bet you're even hotter out of it. Come to the guest room at two AM—Mike.'"

"Good God. What did your naïve sister get herself inta this time?" Bernice slurred while beginning to read over Beth's shoulder.

"Why are you drinking? You know you can't handle your alcohol! Watching you is like watching a train wreck, so give me that!" Beth snapped and immediately snatched the now empty bottle from Bernice, much to her dismay, "And now's not the time for drinking! We've gotta save Hannah before she embarrasses herself!"

Just as soon as Beth finished her sentence and set the note down, heavy and quick footsteps could be heard from upstairs before a familiar shadow could be seen sprinting out into the merciless blizzard.

"I may be under the influence, but I'm pretty sure that was her," Bernice quickly stated with utmost worry, so she and Beth ran to find the others. Before they could reach them, they caught a quick glimpse of them running outside, much to their confusion. But the two slipped on their coats and followed anyway.

"Hannah!" Sam called out into the snow, but there was no answer.

"Oh, my God! Where's my sister going?!" Beth exclaimed angrily.

"It's fine. She just can't take a joke," Jessica scoffed with a wave of her hand.

"It was just a prank, Han!" Emily shouted half-heartedly.

"What did you do?!" Bernice snapped.

"We were just messin' around, Guys. It wasn't serious," Mike protested in defense.

"You jerks!" Beth's voice echoed throughout the wintry woods before she ran and called after her sister, Bernice following close behind.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to split up?" Bernice inquired loudly over the wind, just as the two jumped over a log.

"What?!" Beth called back, not even bothering to look back.

"I mean, this is usually the part where the main characters split from the group and then die a horrible and mysterious death in a cliché horror movie! Don't you ever watch that stuff?"

"This isn't a movie, Bernice! This is real life!"

Bernice didn't have anything to say to that, so she closed her lips and continued to follow her niece. They soon came up to a drop off with a safer set of stairs leading down, or a quick and sudden drop to the bottom. Knowing she was probably too buzzed, Bernice took the stairs while Beth hastily made the large jump. And since she took the longer way around, Bernice was easily separated from Beth.

Once she made it down, Bernice ran until she came up to a split path, the right leading to a profound noise and the left was blazed with two sets of footprints.

"Damnit! Why do they always follow the obvious serial killer's footprints?" Bernice muttered in aggravation before following what she assumed were Beth's footprints following the stranger's footprints. She was passed by a spooked elk, so she knew she was going the right way. And when Bernice came up to the another steep drop off and heard Beth's distant voice calling out for Hannah again, she felt much more relieved.

But when she landed, she landed on her left ankle wrong and twisted it, making her cry out in pain and fall down onto her hands and knees.

"C'mon, Nature. That the best you got?" Bernice snarled while picking herself up, limping helplessly down the path in search of Beth again. She shouted her youngest niece's name when she heard her scream, even picking up the pace of her limping.

Even with no sign of Beth still, Bernice eventually came up to a small, dark object in the snow; she leaned down and realized that it had been moved a few inches from its original place in the snow mound. And given that Beth's tracks led past it, he figured it must've been her who moved it.

Bernice curiously reached down to pick up the object, to which she was boggled when she noticed it was made of wood—like a totem of some sort. But something about the tattered wood design, black coloration and symbolic animal patterns just rubbed her the wrong way. It felt dreadful, gloomy, dreary—like death.

Bernice was suddenly pulled form her trance when she heard a shriek echo through the woods, and it sounded too close for comfort. Dropping the totem and quickly hobbling down the path again, Bernice was just about to call out for the twins when she saw a bright light in the distance.

 _Is that…fire?_ She asked herself in her mind when she swore it looked like fire. After walking a few more yards, a much bigger light appeared on a hill top; the roaring sounds and smell of gasoline confirmed Bernice's theory of the source of the light being fire.

"What the hell is spoutin' fire in a blizzard?" Bernice accidentally muttered out loud, but her vocal chords went dead silent when a much closer shriek could be heard, most likely in response to the flames.

Although she lost her voice, Bernice didn't lose any feeling in her legs, which dragged her along in a terror-induced sprint through the snow and ice. The barbaric noises were soon all around her, this time accompanied by the cries of Hannah and Beth.

Bernice was in a literal blind panic by now, failing to notice the low branch that she was approaching at high velocity. In her attempt to look back to see if she was being followed, her head collided with the thick limb, sending flashing colors and stars bulleting into her vision before she flopped down onto her back and began to sink into unconsciousness.

Bernice could barely make out the world around her, as every one of her five senses were being overwhelmed with numbness and a ringing in her ears. But in the darkness, she noticed two more flashes of fiery light; one just before the familiar screams of her two nieces before they faded away, and the other making mysterious creature from before cry out in agony before being drowned out in the roar of flames.

The middle-aged woman was starting to black out, barely noticing a shadow eventually approaching and looming over her. Before long, the frigid coldness of the snow below her disappeared as she was being lifted, but Bernice wouldn't realize she was being carried until later; a strong pair of arms carefully held her underneath her back and knees.

Before being able to lift her head and see her savior and/or captor, Bernice finally blacked out.


End file.
